Chapter 77

PS: Thank you, "Zhong Youhui" and "Death Immortal," for your support all along!

Liu Siyi stood at the classroom door, took a deep breath, and firmly held the letter containing the secret that his mother had given him.

Liu Siyi can't be blamed for being greedy. Since he's alive, he must always be prepared for the survival of the fittest. Now that Liu Siyi is strong, he can act this way. But if he were weak, like when he was in the underground black market, if he hadn't encountered Kross, who had an inexplicable fondness for humans, the outcome would have been uncertain.

"From what I know, an ordinary crystal dragon can condense one unit of crystal in a week, and an elite can do so in just four days. I'm being conservative, averaging 50 units per year, which means 5,000 units in a hundred years. And you've been living here for far more than a hundred years, right? This is just one crystal dragon. If we add all of you together, the number would be much larger." Liu Siyi was prepared to make a big demand, starting with a high number. After all, everything is negotiable, and the sky-high price can always be brought down to earth.

"You're right, but you haven't mentioned our crystal dragon habits," the purple crystal dragon said, immediately understanding Liu Siyi's implication—that with so many crystals, they should contribute a part. He didn't argue but said calmly.

"Oh? What habits?" Liu Siyi was curious. After all, he had only inherited part of his abilities, not all of them, so he only knew a portion of the information.

"This world contains unique power, and we crystal dragons have the ability to absorb this power and convert it into crystal resources. Under normal circumstances, if we have enough crystal ore to consume, this conversion process is even faster. An ordinary crystal dragon needs five days, while an elite only needs three days to convert one unit of crystal," the purple crystal dragon explained. But hearing this, Liu Siyi became even more puzzled. This was clearly telling him that the crystals they possessed were even more than he had estimated, inviting him to take them...

"In fact, we have another ability: to consume units of crystal and convert them into our own power, enhancing our strength." As everyone was puzzled, the purple crystal dragon continued.

"You mean to say that all the crystals you convert are consumed by you?" Liu Siyi asked with a cold smile. If that were true, how many crystals would they have consumed? But that was the reality; otherwise, how would crystal dragons improve their strength and advance in levels without actively fighting?

Converting crystals and consuming them is the way crystal dragons train.

However, even if what he said was true, he needed to show his stance. Otherwise, if he accepted everything they said, they would keep lowering their price.

"Usually, we consume 100 crystals at a time, and elites like me need 200 crystals to have any effect. So, there are still some left, more or less."

"Alright, a fifth-tier gold treasure chest plus 1,000 crystals, and all the future crystal ore production will be mine, and I'll agree to your request." Liu Siyi made another big demand.

"Handing over the gold treasure chest and the crystal ore production is not a problem, but 1,000 units of crystal is too much. Even if we need to build a city, we don't need that many crystals, and we don't have that many crystals left. 200, we can only contribute 200 crystals," the purple crystal dragon shook his head and began to haggle.

"No way, 1,000 crystals are nothing to you. You rely on consuming crystals to enhance your strength; it would be faster to go out and kill more monsters."

"1,000 crystals are not much to us, but we can't come up with that many right now, even if you kill us now, we can't."

"How many can you come up with? Don't say 200; that's not sincere." Liu Siyi didn't want to push him too hard. If he ran away, it would be a big loss for him.

"Um... 500, that's the most we can offer. Three elites, 100 each, and the rest, 50 each." The purple crystal dragon looked at the other crystal dragons, thought for a moment, and said.

"Alright, I agree to your request." Liu Siyi pretended to be reluctant and then changed the subject: "Now, let's talk about my requirements."

"What are your requirements?" The purple crystal dragon frowned, feeling something was off but couldn't put his finger on it. It made sense; if he could make demands, others could too.

"This is our兽人族 (beast race) territory, and we will not tolerate any other forces developing here." Liu Siyi stated his requirement. He wouldn't allow others to sleep soundly beside his bed. This was the bottom line, unless the other party was overwhelmingly powerful, which the crystal dragons clearly were not.

"You crystal dragons are the same. If you don't join us, we won't let you live here. What if one day you suddenly attack us?"

"I can guarantee that will never happen."

"Don't be so sure. Anything can happen. So, I have a better solution: we establish a strategic alliance and become allies."

"What kind of strategic alliance?" The purple crystal dragon was very interested.

"Simple. Both sides must swear an oath in the name of the great deity. This oath will be unbreakable unless one of us becomes a deity. The content of the oath is simple: the first rule is that neither side can initiate any conscious attack on the other. For example, if one of you has an eye on our gold mine and blocks the entrance, what can we do? The first rule is to prevent such incidents. Neither side can take any action to break the alliance, or it will be considered a breach of the alliance."

"This rule is no problem. I believe my brothers won't break it," the purple crystal dragon nodded.

"The second rule is a mutual defense pact. It's simple: when either side faces a powerful opponent, they can request the other to join in the battle."

"You know, we crystal dragons don't like fighting..."

"I know," Liu Siyi interrupted before the other could finish. "Our beast race's influence is expanding, and the enemies we face are very powerful. We might need you to join in the battle. But you're not entirely safe either. If our enemies are too strong and take over our territory, do you think you'll be safe? Do you think my enemies are as reasonable as I am?

Joining in the battle is just a way for both sides to face the enemy together. If the enemy is too strong, we both have the right to refuse to fight. You don't need to worry too much. As allies, our task is to distract the enemy for each other, so as long as you're careful, there's not much danger."

"You mean, when the time comes, we just need to distract the enemy, not kill them?" the purple crystal dragon asked again.